Liberals Avoid Confronting Government Fraud Because It Undermines Their Core Belief in Technocratic Solutions
Source: Nathanael Blake. "Liberals Won't Confront Fraud, Believing Government The Solution." March 30, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that liberals don't get angry about government fraud because admitting how badly these programs work would destroy their belief that government spending can fix society's problems. Instead of facing the hard truth that human problems require moral solutions, they prefer to keep believing that more money and better management will work.
Conclusion
Liberals won't confront government fraud and waste because doing so would undermine their fundamental assumption that well-funded technocratic management can solve society's problems
Premises
- Government programs frequently suffer from massive fraud, waste, and mismanagement (examples: Somali daycare fraud, California rail debacle, homelessness spending without results)
- Liberals show little outrage at these failures compared to their opposition to military spending
- If liberals truly believed government programs were key to societal improvement, they should be furious at those who undermine these programs through fraud and incompetence
- Confronting fraud would force liberals to acknowledge that simply spending money doesn't solve complex social problems
- Human problems stem from deeper issues of character and virtue, not just lack of funding
- Liberalism fails to address the root causes of social problems because it ignores the need for virtue and proper understanding of human nature
Assumptions
- Government fraud and waste are widespread and significant
- Liberal priorities are revealed through their emotional responses to different issues
- Human nature contains inherent flaws that require moral/spiritual solutions
- Virtue and character formation are prerequisites for societal flourishing
- Liberal ideology is fundamentally incompatible with acknowledging these deeper human problems